Sanctuary: humane or insane?

Just when you thought Angela Merkel’s open invitation to refugees to swarm into Europe in vast unfiltered numbers was discredited by the consequences, along comes the turbo charged version. American courts and ‘sanctuary cities’ are openly inviting not just refugees, but criminal refugees, to swarm into America. The courts by opposing President Donald Trump’s temporary visa refusals policy which would apply to people from countries where security clearances are virtually non-existent (eg Libya); ‘sanctuary cities’ by refusing to cooperate with Federal authorities with the apprehension of criminals who are illegal immigrants to the US.

To a rational observer, these strategies of virtue signalling are not just the usual misguided outpouring of an infantile form of unrealistic compassion. They are observable examples of massive self-harm imposed on the greater community by the self appointed guardians of America’s moral compass who see their cause as humane. It is not humane; it is insane.

One example of how this exacerbates self harm for the US citizenry is the infamous MS-13 gang. MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha; also known as simply MS or Mara) is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, US in the 1980s. The 13 represents the 13 seconds of getting beaten in order to join the gang.

The gang later spread to many parts of the continental United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America, and is active in urban and suburban areas. Most members are ethnically of Central American origin (principally El Salvador). According to the 2009 National Gang Threat Assessment, “The gang is estimated to have 30,000 to 50,000 members and associate members worldwide, 8,000 to 10,000 of whom reside in the United States. Many are illegally there.

According to The Washington Times, MS-13 “is thought to have established a major smuggling centre” in Mexico. There were reports by the Minuteman Project that MS members were ordered to Arizona to target U.S. Border Patrol agents and Minuteman Project volunteers.

In 2005 Honduran Security Minister Oscar Álvarez and the President of El Salvador raised alarm by claiming that Muslim terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda was meeting with Mara Salvatrucha and other Central American gangs to help them infiltrate the United States. FBI agents said that the U.S. intelligence community and governments of several Central American countries found that there was no basis to believe that MS-13 was connected to Al-Qaeda or other Islamic radicals, although Álvarez did visit Central America to discuss the issue.

Robert Morales, a prosecutor for Guatemala, indicated to The Globe and Mail that some Central American gang members seek refugee status in Canada.

Superintendent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police integrated gang task force, John Robin, said in an interview that “I think [gang members] have a feeling that police here won’t treat them in the harsh manner they get down there.” Robin noted that Canadian authorities “want to avoid ending up like the U.S., which is dealing with the problem of Central American gangsters on a much bigger scale”.

It isn’t only Mexicans who pour across the US border, but anyone in South America who wishes to sneak into America. And anyone means anyone from anywhere who can get to South America – easier than getting into the US – unless of course you are from one of those six countries who have non-existent security controls to vet visa applicants to the US.